The Heroes of Olympus: Book 3: The Mark of Athena
by minniemomo
Summary: When the Argo II's engine is mysteriously fixed overnight, the heroes of Camp Half-Blood fly to Camp Jupiter in the attempt to unite the two camps to fight Gaea's giants in Greece. Will they succeed? Who is the last demigod in the Prophecy of Seven? Read!
1. Chapter 1 Leo

Hi everyone. This is my fanfiction of **The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena**. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to update it as soon as I can.

**Please note:**** I do not own any portion of the The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena, such as the characters and the setting. They are all property of Rick Riordan.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Leo

The day was strange from the start. At five in the morning, Leo was already up and quietly making his way out of Cabin 9 past his sleeping siblings, to start another day of working on the _Argo II_: hopefully the last, if Gaea didn't blow it up again.

Leo had worked numerous sleepless nights on his best friend Jason's ship, but Annabeth, head counselor for had worked even more, so many that Piper had to charmspeak her to stop and rest for a little bit. It didn't help that she was one of the few people who weren't affected by charmspeaking that easily. It had taken Piper a lot of energy to convince her.

That's why Leo was up so early. Despite being the hyperactive, easily distracted boy who works hard to be annoying, he knew how much the ship meant to Annabeth. It was the only hope she had of finding her long-lost boyfriend, Percy Jackson.

Leo stepped outside of the cabin and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. He studied the cabin area, which consisted of the strangest set of buildings he'd ever seen. He located Jason and Piper sitting together on a bench by the basketball court.

Leo made his way through the commons towards them. The morning dew speckled his combat boots and the warm sun-light greeted his face welcomingly.

He slapped Jason on the back as he passed the bench. "Morning! Ready to get your hands dirty?"

Jason rubbed his back. "Ow, Leo. That hurt. And, hi."

Surprisingly, he looked wide awake. Leo didn't know if that was from his wake-up slap or something else, but that was fine with him.

Piper was a totally different story. Her eyes were still bleary from sleep and still had sleeping imprints on her face.

Leo smirked. Time to wake her up, he thought. "Piper, you look tired. Are you sure you don't need another ten hours of your beauty sleep?"

She scowled at him. "Leo, don't be smart. You don't look much better than I do. I'm still waking up!"

"Good morning to you too."

Piper sighed. "Fine, Leo. Good morning."

Jason stood up and swung his arms back and forth. "Want to go?"

The other two nodded, and the three of them walked to the construction site together.

When they got there, Leo climbed on board and made his way to the engine room to check on the previous day's progress, while the other two waited below for instructions. He nearly choked.

The engine was as good as new.

"That is _not_ possible," he muttered to himself. He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again. Nothing changed.

He ran out of the room in a daze up to the main deck. When he reached the deck, he ran to the railing overseeing what's below and stopped so abruptly he nearly flipped over it.

Jason and Piper looked up at him as if he were crazy, which he probably was.

"Leo," Piper began, "What are you-"

"It's fixed," he said, interrupting her. He started bouncing up and down like a little kid opening a huge Christmas present.

"What?" Jason asked, his eyes widening.

"The engine. It looks as if nothing had happened to it. We're ready to sail." Leo's skipped several beats. He had been looking forward to saying that since the winter.

His two friends stared at him. "But, didn't you say last night that-"

"That I needed at least another full day to work on it? Yeah. It looked terrible! But, it- it's not! It looks brand new!"

Piper raised an eye brow. "So, you didn't realize it was fixed last night?" She spoke slowly, as if she were talking to a toddler.

"No! It was fixed over night, like magic."

Jason studied him. Leo thought that he would be as happy as he was about the _Argo II_'s completion, but he seemed more concerned about how it was accomplished. "Leo, how?"

Piper peered around the side of the ship. Her eyes widened. "Why don't you ask Annabeth?"

"What?" Jason and Leo asked simultaneously. Piper pointed at what she was looking at.

Sure enough, Annabeth was zonked out on one of the work benches. She looked as if she had been rolling around in charcoal. Her orange t-shirt was streaked with greased and her hands were smeared with it. Her curly blonde hair was coming loose from its ponytail.

To Leo's opinion, she looked a lot less severe like that. He always found it hard to meet her intense gray eyes.

Jason took a step back. "Should I go get help?"

Piper looked at him and then back at Annabeth. "No," she said. "Let's see if we can wake her first."

She looked up at Leo, who was still on the main deck. "Are you going to come down?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Hold on a second." He ran to the ladder, climbed down and walked up to them. "Now you can wake her."

Piper stepped forward and shook Annabeth's arm. "Annabeth," she said gently and softly. "Hey, wake up."

Annabeth stirred. She mumbled something that Leo couldn't make out, sat up and rubbed them. She squinted at Piper. "Piper? What are you-? Wait, where am I?" She stared accusingly at the three of them? "What am I doing here?"

Jason explained about how they had came to the site to work on the engine, which had miraculously been fixed during the night, and how they found her asleep on the bench. Annabeth listened calmly the whole time, but Leo swore he saw the faintest flicker of panic in her eyes when the engine's fixture was mentioned.

When Jason finished, her eyes fell on the Argo II. For the first time in the six months he had been at camp, her eyes seemed to sparkle. Even though she kept a straight face, she actually seemed happy and relaxed.

"So, it's finished," she said. "We can finally go."

Leo nodded. "If we rouse the camp now, we can leave within a few hours." He smiled at Jason. "You can finally introduce us to your Roman buddies."

Jason shifted his feet. "Don't say it as if it were that simple."

Piper studied him with concern. "Why do you seem so nervous?"

Jason refused to meet anyone's eyes. He stared at the ship. "I don't remember everything, but I know that I wasn't exactly the most popular kid there. Everyone always seemed nervous around me. I'm not sure why, but I think it was because my dad was Jupiter… I mean Zeus. There was this kid, I don't remember his name exactly, something with an O, I think. Anyways, he was always trying to get rid of me. He was an important figure, and he had many powerful allies. Everyone else was afraid of him. The thing is, if I come back in a warship with a bunch of Greek demigods, how do you think he'll react?"

Piper grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "We'll figure it out," she promised. "But let's take care of things one at a time."

Annabeth walked up to the _Argo II _and traced the edge of a wood plank with a finger. "Last I heard was that Tyson's at the other camp, probably with Percy," she said. "All we have to do is locate him, and we'll know where the Roman camp is." She turned to Piper. "Do you think Mellie can…?"

"Yes," Piper answered immediately. "She's a wind spirit. She'll be able to do it easily."

"Great. Jason, can you wake Chiron for me? I really need to change." She tugged at her greasy shirt. "Just tell him that the Argo II's ready. We can finally go to Camp Jupiter, and then to Greece." She smiled, as if to herself and fingered the nine beads on her camp necklace. "I can finally see Seaweed Brain again."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just, can you?"

"Sure." Jason turned and jogged toward the Big House.

Annabeth turned to Piper. "You may want to go with him. Chiron's a heavy sleeper. It takes forever to wake him up. You may want to charmspeak him."

Piper looked stunned for a moment. "Centaurs like to sleep? I find that hard to believe. But, sure, I'll go help." She sprinted after Jason.

Then it was only Annabeth and Leo left. Annabeth studied the ship for a long moment, then faced Leo. "I just want to say thanks. I know that you didn't build this ship just for me, but now, I can finally find my boyfriend. I- I've really missed him." She smiled kindly at Leo, as if he were an old friend. "I think he'll be pleased to meet you and impressed by the ship. Now, come on. Let's wake up everyone." She ran towards the cabin area.

For a moment Leo was surprised. Now that the ship was built, Annabeth seemed different. She was more relaxed, more open. The Annabeth he'd known since the winter was serious and restless. She hardly took any jokes or smiled.

All at once, Leo couldn't wait to meet the famous Percy Jackson. Everyone(except the Ares kids) spoke fondly of him. He seemed to be likeable.

Leo smiled raced towards the cabins to start the voyage.


	2. Chapter 2 Annabeth

Hi everyone! Here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Reviews are appreciated. I'm interested to hear what you have to say.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Annabeth

It was a typical day at Camp Half-Blood. Or, at least Chiron tried to make it seem like one. He trotted around with a forced smile on his face and reassured the unclaimed kids in Cabin 11, like he always did.

Everyone seemed to be convinced with Chiron's act except Annabeth. Despite being one of the younger kids at camp, she had a lot of seniority and intelligence. It was totally suspicious that he disappeared for the whole year and came back all tense and nervous.

After dinner, she made her way to the Athena cabin to grab her knife to practice knife-handling, which she always kept under her pillow. When she pulled the pillow away from her bed, it wasn't there.

"What?" she muttered to herself. She got down on her hands and knees and glanced underneath the bed frame. Nothing.

She stood up and analyzed the cabin. Where would she leave her knife? She patted down the covers for any lumps underneath. The knife wasn't there.

"You okay, Annabeth?" A voice asked from the entrance.

Annabeth turned to see her brother, Louis, walking in. He could have been easily mistaken for a tree, he was so tall.

She flinched at the thought of her brother being like a tree. It reminded her to much of Thalia.

"Um…no. My knife isn't where I left it. I can't find it. Do you have any idea where it is?"

Louis glanced around the cabin. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Did you use it today?"

"No."

Louis studied her. His stormy gray eyes seemed to glow with wisdom.

"If I were you, I'd check Cabin 11. They might be up to their tricks again."

"Okay. Thanks."

Annabeth squeezed her way out of the crammed sleeping area at the back edge of the cabin and made her way to the entrance. When she reached the doorway, an idea popped in her head.

"Hey, Louis," she said with one of her innocent-little-girl smiles. "Do you know anything about the summer solstice?"

Louis stiffened. "What?"

"The summer solstice. Both Chiron and the satyrs have been acting weird. I keep hearing them mention it. Something's wrong in Olympus. Do you know what?"

Louis bit his lip in thought. "No," he said. "But don't go snooping around, looking for answers. You'll only get in trouble."

She waved the advice away. "Yeah, okay. See you later."

Annabeth walked through the commons towards Cabin 11. The commons was one of her favorite places at camp, decorated with marble statues of Greek gods and heroes, fountains and basketball hoops (which were always occupied by the Apollo kids- show-offs). In the center was a fire pit, which a mysterious girl a little younger than her always tended. They exchanged smiles as she passed by.

She stealthily climbed up the wooden stoop of Cabin 11- the most normal looking one of the twelve at camp, with its splintery wood and beaten up structure. She leaned against the doorway and met the eyes of everyone in the cabin. She someone mutter "Uh-oh."

She turned in the direction of the voice and stared. Travis Stoll and his brother, Connor, were sitting together on one of the many sleeping bags scattered across the floor. Both of them were looking away casually, refusing to meet her eyes.

Annabeth's arms crossed as she cleared her throat. "Connor, Travis, give me back my knife." She pronounced every word clearly, giving her tone a deadly edge.

The two brothers looked nervously at each other. Then Travis shimmied something out of the sleeping bag and stood up. He stepped carefully around his on-watching cabin-mates towards her and offered her back her knife.

She stared at it for a moment, then snatched it away. "Thank you." Turning on her heel, she walked away.

As she made her way through the cabins area, Annabeth found herself feeling a mixture of emotions- anger, pride and sorrow. How could the Stoll brothers think they could get away with stealing her knife? It was her prized possession, a momentum of the day she met her two best friends, Thalia and Luke, in that dark ally in California over five years ago. One of them was concealed in a pine tree, probably dead. The other was their brother. They probably didn't know that, but if they did, they wouldn't even think about doing it. But still, you don't go around snatching other people's weapons from their beds.

She was also pleased with herself. She managed to scare the Stoll brothers into giving her back the knife! Annabeth Chase, only twelve years old, scared two sons of Hermes, who were both a little older than her. That was a memory she would certainly treasure for a life-time.

But, just like every other visit to the Hermes cabin, made her feel guilty. She was one of the luckier kids at Camp Half-Blood. When she had arrived at camp with Luke, both of them had stayed her first week in the Big House. After seeing their best friend, who was like a sister to them, sacrifice herself to an army of monsters so they could get to safety, it kind of took both of them awhile to recover from it. When they couldn't stay there anymore, they both were sent to stay in Cabin 11- Luke as a regular, Annabeth as an unclaimed.

Annabeth only stayed there for five days before being claimed by Athena. She was only seven.

Most of the other kids there were in their teens and had been living there for years. They were never claimed. Usually, if you weren't claimed in your first few weeks at camp, you stayed unclaimed.

Annabeth's mind whirled with thoughts and sad memories so much that she got distracted and nearly walked in to Luke.

"Whoa, there kiddo," he said with a smile. He held his hand out to prevent collision.

"What? Oh, sorry," Annabeth replied in a daze.

"It's okay. Here, let's sit. We haven't talked in awhile."

They sat down on a marble bench by the fire pit. There was no sign of the mysterious girl.

Luke studied her for a minute. "You seem distracted," he said simply.

"When am I not?"

Luke chuckled to himself. His reaction was all wrong. Before his quest took a wrong turn, he would have let out a huge guffaw to a response like that. Now, he seemed so heavy-hearted.

It wasn't just his reactions that were different. A huge, jagged white scar slashed down the right side of his face. And his eyes, they weren't playful and friendly like they used to be. They were cold, dark and serious, and for some reason, they disturbed Annabeth more than they should've.

Annabeth must have been staring at him because Luke stared right back.

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Something is."

Annabeth hesitated. "Your brothers stole my knife."

"Which ones?"

"Travis and Connor."

Luke studied her. "That's not what's bothering you. What is it?"

"Luke, what's going to happen on the solstice? It's obvious that something's not right in Olympus. Chiron and the satyrs know and they aren't telling me anything. I want to help."

A flicker of panic flashed through Luke's eyes. He knew something.

"I know nothing," he said.

"That's a lie and you know it."

"_Anyway_," Luke said, ignoring Annabeth's last statement, "how have you been doing? Are you making it through today okay?"

She gave him a confused stare. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Luke's face fell. "Annabeth, it's been five years."

She continued to stare stupidly at him. "What?"

"I said, it's been five years since, well, you know."

His eyes settled on something in the distance. Annabeth followed his gaze.

He was staring at Half-Blood hill. More specifically, at Thalia's pine tree.

"What?"

Annabeth was grateful that Piper had pulled her out of that nightmare. When she woke up, she felt like she was going to cry.

Then she realized that the dream was totally false. Luke had been the one who had forgotten about their five year anniversary at camp, not her. And it wasn't exactly a day to celebrate. It marked five years since they lost Thalia, who was revived from her tree-form about a year later.

She also remembered distinctly that the very same evening, she and Chiron found an exhausted and distraught boy her age on the front porch of the Big House.

That boy turned out to be the hero of Olympus. He also turned out to be one of her closest and most trusted friend and then, her boyfriend.

As she trudged through the forest towards Rachel's cave, it came to her that it has been over six months since she'd seen Percy. For the past six months, she had been living in a thick fog of desperation. It was so strange living without knowing he was by her side. All thanks to Hera.

She stopped in front of the cave's entrance.

_What now?_ She thought. _Do I go in and wake her or shout her name?_

Her response to her own thought was, _Annabeth, you think too much._

She got that a lot from just about everyone.

She walked in. Being one of the few people who have been inside, she wasn't scared to go in. The outside may as well have a huge neon sign saying: **Beware: The Oracle's Lair**, with its black velvet curtain embroidered with snakes and torches, but the inside was a completely different story. It was a cool den where Rachel hung out in the evenings when she wasn't at the camp fire. The walls had a half-finished painting of the camp and old newspapers were spread across the stone floor to keep the paint from staining it. There was a black boom box at the back end of the cave, right next to the bed.

Annabeth made her way across the floor hopping around the paint cans towards Rachel's bed. She smiled as she passed the painting of the commons area. She easily found the two people that were meant to be her and Percy, walking towards the woods after dinner to play capture the flag, talking, laughing.

_It may not be like that for a while_, she reminded herself. _We're sailing to Greece after going to the Roman Camp. Don't forget it._

She hovered over a lump in the bed, which obviously a sleeping Rachel. She shook it. "Rachel, wake up."

Rachel grunted in her sleep and turned over. Annabeth shook her more vigorously. "Hey, Rachel! It's time to get up."

Her friend moaned something about sleeping in and waved her away. She pulled the covers over her head.

Annabeth got an idea.

"Rachel, you're going to be late for class if you don't get up _now_!"

"What!"

Rachel was out of bed in a second. Annabeth bit her lip to hold in a laugh.

"Annabeth, what're you-? Wait." Rachel's eyes fell on the boom box's clock. "It's five thirty in the morning! Why are you-?"

"The _Argo II_'s finished," she answered simply.

Rachel stared at her. "What?"

"The engine's fixed."

There was a long moment of silence. Then Rachel broke it. "How? I saw it last night and it looked like someone burned it on a barbecue. Leo said he needed at least another full day of working on it."

"It got fixed overnight."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "By Leo?"

Annabeth gulped. She was on to her.

"No," she answered as vaguely and as casually as possible.

Her friend's eyes widened. "Annabeth, you didn't… did you…?" She didn't finish her sentence.

Annabeth looked away. _Stupid!_ she scolded herself. _You just as well as let the secret out!_

"Did you fix it?" Rachel finally found her words.

She met her eyes. There was no use lying now. "Yeah," she said. "I did."

"By yourself? Overnight?"

"Yeah. I did." She forced a proud smile. Smart move, she told herself.

Rachel shook her head with disbelief. "You're incredible. I swear you can do anything."

She laughed. "Stop it! You're flattering me."

Rachel studied her. Her eyes flickered with happiness. "We're probably going to see Percy again today. You must be happy about that."

Annabeth nodded. "I can't wait."

"Are you nervous?"

She thought about that. "A little," she admitted. "But not about Percy. About the Romans. I mean, they just had a huge battle against one of the giants last night. They'll probably be vigilant for any other sign of attacks. And, we're flying there on a _warship_. That doesn't exactly put them in a relaxed mood. And, you know, Percy's one of us. They might get the wrong idea and…" She didn't finish the thought.

Rachel shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Then we'll give them a heads up. No biggie."

_How come I can't think as simply as Rachel_, she thought. _I really should work on that._

A horn blared in the of the distance. That was the call for breakfast. Jason and Piper must have managed to wake Chiron up.

"Look, let me get changed. I'll meet you down at the dining pavilion."

"Sure. I'll see you there."

When Annabeth was out of the cave's sight, she shuddered with relief. Thank goodness nobody asked about how she was able to fix the engine. Then she would have been in a tight spot.

Nobody at camp knew of Annabeth's power. The last time she had used it, she had freaked her dad and stepmom out so much that they locked her in her room. The same night, she snuck out and ran away.

The night before, when Leo announced that the Argo II would not be able to set sail for at least another day, she was devastated. After everyone went to bed, she snuck out of her cabin and went to the construction site of the ship and summoned all of her energy into her head. Then she put her full attention on the ship.

With pure thought, she had fixed the engine.

_No one can know_, she told herself. _Don't let anyone find out._


	3. Chapter 3 Piper

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the wait. Here is Chapter 3 of **The Heroes of Olympus: Book 3: The Mark of Athena**. I hope you enjoy it, and please review on this, or any other chapter in this fan-fiction. Thank you!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Piper

Breakfast reminded Piper of a funeral. As she walked towards the Aphrodite table to join her siblings, the tension and emotion was so thick it was almost palpable. Cabin mates murmured softly to each other, trying to savor the time left with their siblings who were going to California and Greece.

She slid onto a bench next to Lacy, across from Mitchell. Both of them, as well as their other siblings, had dark circles underneath their bleary eyes and blank expressions. They obviously had just rolled out of bed.

Piper tried to be bright. "Good morning," she greeted with a forced smile. Lacy jumped in surprise at her words and nearly spilled her oatmeal. Mitchell almost choked on his orange juice. Drew, despite how tired she looked, scowled at her. The rest just gave her bleak looks before turning back to their food.

"How are you happy?" Lacy whispered in her fairy-like voice. Her voice matched her soft face, leaf-green eyes and wispy blonde hair.

Piper bit her lip. Of course Lacy would be scared like that. She was the youngest in Cabin 10 and looked up to Piper as a role model. It made Piper uncomfortable, but pleased with herself at the same time. Lacy's reaction to what she did was one way to make sure she was moving in the right direction.

"I'm not," she admitted. "I was just trying to lift the mood. It's too tense for me to take."

"Mm," Lacy agreed. She took a bite of oatmeal.

"You nervous?" Mitchell asked between gulps of juice.

"Who wouldn't be? No one knows how the Romans will react when they see the ship. They'll probably think we're _attacking_ them when we're trying to enforce a truce!"

"And then you have to sail to Greece with them."

"And that too."

"Not to mention the worry about monsters and the giants."

"Thanks Mitchell. That totally lifts my spirit."

"No problem, sis." They exchanged nervous smiles and continued to eat.

After a moment, Chiron pounded one of his hooves for attention. Piper was almost afraid of him now. He was a _violently_ restless sleeper, so violent that he had left a nasty bruise on Jason's arm.

"Heroes!" His voice echoed through the mess hall. "I'm sure most, if not all, have heard the news. It is true that the Argo II's engine has been repaired completely. The campers who were originally going still are." He looked at Table One for reference. "Correct?"

The only person seated at Table One was Jason. His sister, Thalia, was sitting at the Artemis Cabin's table with the rest of the hunters. He straightened himself up at the old centaur's question. "Uh… yeah. I'm pretty sure that's the case."

Piper felt sorry for him. He, with Annabeth, was probably the most worried about the voyage to Camp Jupiter. He once admitted to Piper that he didn't trust himself as much as everyone else did; he was afraid that he might get everyone killed.

Piper refused to believe it. After going on a quest with him- the real him, not the mist-Jason she had thought she'd known, liked and dated since September- she had grown to trust him with her life. They, along with Leo, had learned to watch each other's backs.

Chiron continued. "The Argo II is arranged to take flight in an hour. Be prepared and aboard by then if you are going. Nobody is going to be waited for. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast."

He stepped down and trotted away.

The usual pandemonium didn't break out. Instead, murmurs and whispers rippled through the pavilion. A few kids left the tables and headed towards the cabin area. Piper did the same. She didn't want to feel like she should be writing her will.

Gratefully, Lacy and Mitchell accompanied her. They were her two closest friends inside the Aphrodite cabin, so their presences were somewhat comforting.

Lacy bounced up and down beside her, trying to keep up. "I like your hair, by the way."

"What?" Piper's hand instinctively shot towards her head. She remembered the "present" and note her mother had left her earlier in the morning. Her chocolate brown hair had been braided with pale pink ribbons and a simple satin headband had sat on the crown of her head. On the pillow, a note scribbled in script read:

_You always look great, but I think today you should go with a slightly more feminine look. It'll help make a more peaceful first impression with the other camp. Good luck!_

Piper hadn't taken it much to mind; it wasn't as ridiculous as some of the other hair styles and outfits Aphrodite had previously given her. And, luckily, it was just her hair this time. No dresses. No skirts. Just jeans and an orange tee-shirt.

Lacy smiled when she told them about their mother's note. She liked it when Aphrodite left some sort of sign that she's watching over them, even though she may not be the fashion victim. Mitchell laughed. "Wisdom from Aphrodite, folks. Good appearances help make good first impressions. Take that, cabin six!"

Piper smiled with relief. She had feared that the tension from breakfast would follow her for the next hour, but Mitchell and Lacy wouldn't let it weigh her or themselves. If it did happen to linger around them, then it would have shatter with their smiles and laughter.

They walked into their cabin. Piper dragged her duffel bag from underneath her bunk and blew away the thin layer of dust beginning to form on it. It didn't contain much: just a couple of sets of fresh clothing, toiletries and her knife, called Katoptris or mirror. She unzipped the bag and pulled the sheathed knife out.

Lacy stepped back as if Piper had just pulled out Thalia's shield. Mitchell shuddered. "I still don't understand why you chose _that_ thing as your weapon." He said it as if it left rotten taste in his mouth.

Piper gave the usual answer. "I'm a demigod. I'm supposed to take risks, even if it's choosing a knife that originally was chosen by Helen of Troy."

She strapped the knife to her belt and grabbed the set of Greek armor she kept by her bedside. She shoved it into the duffle and tugged at the zipper.

Mitchell got down on his knees and shifted the armor in the bag to help Piper zip it up.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Piper stood up and brushed off her jeans. She swung the duffel bag over shoulder. The armor weighed her down for a moment and she nearly lost balance, but she steadied herself before she could fall. She looked down at her friends. "Let's go."

Lacy stared blankly at the bag. "That's it? That's all you're bringing?"

Piper glanced at the jam packed duffel and raised an eye brow. "Yeah."

Mitchell shook his head unbelievingly. "You are one tough Aphrodite girl Piper, you know that?"

"What?"

Her brother pointed at the bag. "I'm absolutely sure that everyone else in here would bring _at least_ two full bags, not one small crammed duffel bag like you are."

Piper shrugged. "I guess I'm different, then."

"Yup!" Lacy piped up.

Mitchell got up. "So…to the ship?"

Piper agreed. "To the ship."

The three of them walked out of the cabin. The commons was bustling with activity: kids were dragging backups and duffel bags out of their cabins, talking to their friends before the _Argo II's_ departure and heading towards the former construction site to marvel at Leo's completed work.

Piper was proud of Leo. He had worked so hard to finish Jason's ship. Sometimes she would look at him and think he had spent the whole night out hammering away at wooden planks, or welding pipes together on the ship. She could only imagine what it was like to work endless nights on a project that seemed like it would never get completed. That just shows how much Leo cared.

But the previous morning, when they found Annabeth asleep on the work bench, that was just weird. And the engine being fixed over night too…

She shook those thoughts from her head. There were already enough things to worry about. The engine was the thing she was least concerned about. She and the rest of the camp were standing at the dawn of a day of fate. How the day will go could mean everything. If things didn't go well with the Roman Camp Half-Blood, then Olympus's chance of survival against Gaea and her giants would be reduced to very little or nothing.


	4. Chapter 4 Jason

Hi everybody. Here is Chapter 4 of my fanfiction of **The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena**. I hope you enjoy reading it and please continue to review.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Jason

Jason stood on the upper deck of the _Argo II_, ready to leave for California. He felt nauseous from the anxiety that had been coursing through his veins for the past week. It was at its maximum now, and he knew that it will only increase for the next few hours until they reach the other camp.

Below him, the last of the campers who were going with him were saying their last goodbyes to their cabin mates. He saw Piper hugging her brothers and sisters. She even hugged Drew, her rival for leadership in the cabin. Drew looked shocked, but somewhat relieved that she wasn't left out. Piper straightened her back a little and threw back her shoulders. She announced something to her siblings that Jason couldn't hear, but he could tell it was something very convincing because everyone, except Drew, seemed mesmerized by her. Drew just seemed annoyed.

Piper took a step back and began to board the ship. The whole time, her eyes were on the Aphrodite campers she was leaving behind to defend the camp if anything were to threaten it. Her arm was elevated and she waved enthusiastically at them with a sad smile on her face as if to reassure them that she would come back safely. In return, some of her siblings gave small waves back. Some of the girls blew kisses at her. Others gave half-hearted smiles. The rest turned away to hide the tears that streaked their faces.

Jason's heart broke for them. He realized how lucky he was. Despite the loneliness he'd experienced for the past few months in Cabin 1, he didn't have many close people to say good bye to. His sister and her hunters were coming on the _Argo II_ with him. So were Piper, Leo and Annabeth. He couldn't have asked for better company on his trip.

But something else tore at his heart. Fear. He felt as if he were leading everyone in to a death trap. He didn't want to hurt anyone on the voyage, but he knew, deep down, that it isn't possible. People were going to get hurt and perish, and it will be his fault.

He wondered if it was too late to back out, but the answer was already there: yes. Leo had worked so hard on the ship for the past six months. Jason couldn't just tell him that he wasn't going. Also, there was Annabeth. Her boyfriend was all the way across the country. She hadn't seen or heard of him in a full six months. She seemed to be going out of her mind with worry. It would be terrible to just cancel the journey on her. And if he did, she would probably maim him. Jason didn't want to be maimed.

Behind him, Grover Underwood, a member of the Cloven Counsel, blew a horn signaling that it was time for the stragglers to board the ship. Grover was a pretty nice guy in Jason's opinion. He had only met him a few days before when the satyr had been called back to camp after searching for Percy Jackson since the winter. Apparently, he was really close to Percy, Annabeth and Thalia.

Like everybody else, Grover couldn't seem to comprehend that Thalia had a younger brother whom she had kept secret about for over ten years. It was the same case with the news of the Roman camp in California.

"I've been all over the _world_, no less America," Grover had said. "I've never seen or heard of demigods in purple tee-shirts."

But, like everyone else, Grover came to accept both facts.

The lingerers shared quick good-bye hugs with their friends and boarded the ship.

Jason looked around him. Leo had done a great job on the ship. The outside of the ship was dressed with celestial bronze armor. Leo's dragon, Festus (Happy in English, but who wants to call a bronze, fire-breathing, short-circuited dragon that?), clicked and creaked impatiently. He was only a head now after serving a great deal on their quest to rescue Hera from the giants, but he made a great, fierce-looking masthead.

The inside of the _Argo II_ was like an indoor Camp Half-Blood. There was an armory, an arena, a target-practicing area for archers, a mess hall, stables, a smaller indoor amphitheatre, and cabins (the ship kind). Luckily for Jason each cabin wasn't assigned a patron god or goddess, so he wasn't alone in his cabin. He was sharing one with Leo and a few of his new friends at camp. There were a few spare beds that were reserved for any Romans tagging along for the ride, if things did manage to work out between them.

The ramp leading up to the ship squeaked as it was pulled up and was locked in place. All of the leaving campers were on the upper deck, looking over the rail at the siblings they were leaving behind. About one hundred half-bloods were going to Europe, which was approximately half the camp. They were just enough for a small army, but the Gaea's forces could easily crush them.

The _Argo II_ began to creak as it ascended in to the air. The air was full of the sound of campers yelling goodbye and hands waving in the air. It kept on rising until the flag pole that was to raise the flag of truce scraped the lowest of the clouds, and then roughly lurched forward. The_ Argo II_ was on its way.

The crowd that had gathered began to disperse. Some campers went off with the friends they had that were on the ship. Others walked back to their cabins or to train. A few lingered on the deck watching the clouds as they passed, wondering what the future had in store.

Jason stayed. He leaned on the rail and recalled what he did remember about his old life: his friends from the fifth cohort, becoming praetor after his victory on Mount Othrys, Little Rome, the annoying lares, his rival Octavian, Reyna…

The memory of Reyna slapped him in the face. He knew that she had a crush on him; it was obvious. The thing was that he only saw her as a friend. The love wasn't mutual. Even if things went well at Camp Jupiter after all, he would still end up breaking a heart. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew that Reyna would not be feeling to good once she learned of him and Piper.

Jason shook the thoughts away. Suddenly he felt restless. He tried to stay put, but the urge to move around was to strong. He wandered off the deck to explore the ship

It wasn't long before Jason discovered a space between two large planks of wood. If the scenario was any different, he wouldn't have taken any notice of it, but his mind was in search of any place where he could be completely alone. The slit was large enough for two people to fit in there and still have plenty of room to move around. A perfect hiding place.

Jason looked around at his surroundings. There was a wooden column right by the opening that partially hid it. Right by there, the stairs turned so that anyone climbing up it had their back to the gap. The column hid it from anyone coming down the steps.

Jason made sure that no one was around and climbed in. On the other side of the gap was an open window that gave a great view of the pearl-white clouds and the deep blue sky.

He leaned against the wall and stared at the sky absentmindedly. It really was a nice day out. Hopefully it was a good sign that the day will go well.

Jason's mind rambled on with wonderings about the camp Hera had kidnapped him from. He wondered how the Feast of Fortuna went and who the rest of the demigods in the prophecy were. He wondered if he knew them. He wondered how Percy Jackson made out there and who had replaced him as praetor. He hoped it wasn't Octavian and that it was someone he liked. He wondered what had changed while he was gone and how bad the destruction from the previous day's battle was. Percy's half-brother, Tyson managed to Iris Message camp the night before and reported the battle. He had said that there were very few casualties and that his brother had his full memory back, which Jason was a little jealous about. Some of his memories were still pretty fuzzy. But Annabeth and everyone who knew Percy seemed to be happy about it. Tyson had also mentioned something about a harpy and a horse, but by that time the message was beginning to fade and it was harder to hear him so they probably heard wrong.

"So," a voice said behind him. "I see you've found my secret hide-out."

Jason jumped in surprise and hit his head on the wooden ceiling. He had been in such deep thought he hadn't realized that someone had come up behind him. He whirled around and found Annabeth studying him intently with her stormy gray eyes.

"Sorry. I just… well… found it."

She smirked. "It's okay. I guess it'll be our secret get-away place."

She climbed in next to him with crossed legs. Jason couldn't help but notice how relaxed she seemed.

After a moment of silence, Annabeth said, "So, how are you feeling? About the Roman camp, I mean."

Jason shrugged. "Nervous. Who isn't?"

She laughed. "That's true. " Then her expression changed to concern. "But, I would think this is nerve wracking for you."

"I guess it could be worse. I don't remember anything to be nervous about except Octavian."

"The guy that you told us about this morning?"

"Yeah. He isn't exactly a warrior type, but he's a powerful speaker. That's how he keeps his power in the legion."

Annabeth smiled. "But we have Piper."

That was reassuring to Jason. "Yeah," he said, his spirits lifting. "We do. And she can be way more convincing than him."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Jason blurted out, "What's he like? I mean your boyfriend."

Annabeth stared out at the sky. Her expression changed to wistful anxiety. "I always used to think Percy and Thalia were a lot alike. But," she studied Jason critically, almost accusingly, just as she did back in December at the Grand Canyon, "you're even more like him, it's almost scary."

"How so?"

She seemed to consider this. "Well…, you both are somewhat modest. You're natural leaders. And you would never decline a quest."

Jason thought about what she said. He wasn't sure about the 'natural leader' comment, but he always tried not to be too proud and he didn't refuse to go on any quest.

He summoned the courage to ask the question that had been haunting him for the past two weeks. "When we get there, should I hand over the quest to Percy?"

"No," she said. "This quest is too big for one person to lead alone. Just let it run its course."

Annabeth glanced down at her wrist watch and cursed in Ancient Greek under her breath.

"There's a meeting in the Main Cabin in five minutes. Chiron meant for me to tell you, but it slipped from my mind. Sorry."

Jason shrugged. "It's not a big deal. We'll just go now." He began to push his way out of the opening. Annabeth followed and they made their way to the meeting.


	5. Chapter 5 Annabeth

Sorry for the long wait! Here's Chapter 5 of **The Mark of Athena** fanfiction. Also, go ahead and check out my other fanfiction, **Half-Blood Days: The Heart of Bows ****and**** Arrows.** It takes place after Percy's sixteenth birthday, just before the summer ends. The main character is a girl named Rebecca with a handicapped leg who makes her way to Camp Half-Blood and finds her place there. Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and please review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters and the setting. They are property of Rick Riordan.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Annabeth

Annabeth had mixed feelings about counselor meetings. For the past five years, they were mostly held to share bad news, with the titans rising and all. It was extremely rare for the news to be positive.

So, as she walked towards the main cabin with Jason, she was weighed down with the feeling of apprehension in the pit of her stomach. She knew the reason this specific meeting was being held for- strategies to make a good first impression on the Romans so they won't get killed.

Annabeth had been relieved when Tyson sent them an Iris message the night before. He was vague with what happened, as he always was, but he made it clear: Percy was alright. He remembered everything.

She and Jason walked into the main cabin. In the center of the room was a long table lined with about twenty foldable chairs. Most of them were occupied by talking demigods who were waiting for the meeting to begin.

Annabeth slid into a chair next to Piper and Clarisse. Jason sat on the other side of Piper, next to Leo.

"Hey," Piper said with one of those enchanting smiles. "Did you check out our cabin yet? It's nice and roomy."

"Really? That's cool." Thankfully, Annabeth was sharing a room with Piper and Rachel and two other Roman girls if things worked out that day. Leo had arranged it like that so no one would be in a cabin alone.

Piper studied her. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when the last person walked in-Thalia- and Chiron called for attention.

"Alright heroes," Chiron began, "Before we start discussing how we are to approach the Roman demigod camp, let us congratulate both Leo and Annabeth for their hard work with the ship. They both did a phenomenal job."

Annabeth blushed, but Leo gave a big grin. Then he stood up.

"Can I say something really quick?" he asked Chiron.

"Go ahead," Chiron answered. Annabeth heard Piper teasingly groan next to her

Leo looked around the room at the eyes staring up at him. Then he cleared his throat. "Listen, guys, I just want to thank you for your patience with the work on the ship. So many of you contributed to this project and I'm grateful for that. We have a long way to go still, and it won't be easy. But we'll make it. Don't worry about how things will go today." He gestured toward Jason. "We've got Jason here. The Romans will listen to him." Then Leo nodded toward Annabeth. "Also, Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, is at the Roman camp. So it's guaranteed that things will work out." He smiled. Then he said something that totally ruined the mood of the speech. He raised two fingers. "Peace out."

Everyone stared at him dumbfounded as he sat down. Annabeth had been really impressed; she never knew he was capable of making a speech like that. How was it that two words could simply destroy it.

"Alright…" Chiron said, breaking the awkward silence that Leo was probably savoring. "Annabeth, do you want to say anything?"

She shook her head. "What Leo said goes for both of us. You know, asides from the 'peace out' bit."

"Very well. Let's begin discussing strategy. How should we approach them?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes like the answer was obvious. She sat in her chair with crossed arms and feet up on the table, still wearing her usual scowl, so she looked like a lazy bulldog. "Send Jason out to meet them. Like clown boy said, the Romans will listen to him. It's best to do it like that."

Some people nodded, agreeing. Others weren't so sure. Annabeth wracked her brain for a better option.

Jason looked extremely uncomfortable with the idea. "I don't think that's a good idea. I think that when I see everything, that it will all come rushing back to me. I won't be able to handle it and get on the Romans' good side simultaneously…" His voice trailed off.

Chris Rodriguez, a guy from the Hermes cabin, spoke up. "Then what? We can't just land the ship and wait for them to do something."

Miranda Gardiner answered. "How about Thalia? She's the lieutenant of Artemis. They'll have to trust an Olympian's sidekick."

Thalia leaned forward and pounded the table with her fist. "_No way! _Not going to happen. I volunteer Annabeth."

Annabeth flashed Thalia a death glare. She was about to say something in protest when Chiron spoke up.

"I need Annabeth and Leo to discuss some of Daedalus's invention ideas. She won't be able to greet our future allies." Annabeth thought he used the word 'greet' to lightly.

Will Solace from Apollo looked at her. "Annabeth, you're the best strategist there is. What do you think we should do?"

Annabeth swallowed. She had been hoping that someone else would suggest her idea. She glanced nervously next to her at Piper. Their eyes connected, and she saw that Piper had the same idea. Piper nodded grimly.

She looked directly at Will and said, "I think Piper should do it."

Everyone looked at Piper, waiting for her to protest. She shrugged, though her expression was obviously nervous.

"I'll do it," she said. "I'll just tell them the truth. There's nothing to hide."

Chiron studied Piper. "Are you sure, Piper? You don't have to do it."

"I'll do it," she repeated.

Annabeth felt guilty for putting Piper on the spot. She felt like she had just sentenced her friend to death.

"Okay then," Chiron said. "I advise that you give them options. Invite them onto the ship, allow them to keep their weapons. We'll have our weapons as well. Let them know that we're on their side. But if they don't want to, don't force them."

"Got it."

"We also have a white flag of truce," Lou Ellen from Hecate added. "Small things like that count."

"Then let this meeting be adjourned," Chiron finished.

Everyone started to get up to leave when Leo raised his hand. "Whoa, hold up! Shouldn't we give them a heads up? Let them know we're coming, so they won't be surprised when we drop out of the sky in a _warship_."

"He has a point," Rachel said. "We should send the Romans a message. They would definitely freak out if they see us coming toward them in this thing. They'd attack. Anyone would."

"Then we'll send them a video message," Leo said. He turned towards Annabeth. "You've got that weird camera thingy with you, right? The one pops out videos in the form of a scroll."

Annabeth bit her lip in irritation. She didn't appreciate having one of Daedalus's inventions being called a 'weird thingy.' "Yes," she grumbled. "I brought it."

"Then go get it! We have a video to make."


	6. Chapter 6 Annabeth

Here's the next chapter of **The Mark of Athena.** Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Annabeth

After Leo used up almost all of the film in her video camera, declared himself supreme commander of the Argo II, and Piper using her cell phone to ask Millie, the wind spirit that also is Piper's dad's assistant, to deliver the message, Annabeth went out to the main deck to decompress. The air was damp and chilly from the moisture of the clouds and elevation, but Annabeth didn't mind. It felt good against her skin.

She leaned against the railing, staring out at the fluffy white clouds that surrounded the ship. She thought about her dream. Most of it was true, except for the end. She wasn't the one who had forgotten about the day Thalia turned into a tree; Luke was. It was one of the many small signs that Luke had a change of heart for the gods and Camp Half-Blood. Looking back at it, Annabeth hated herself for not doing anything about it. If she had talked to him about it then, maybe she could have saved him. He would still be alive…

_Enough_, she scolded herself. _There's no helping it. He's gone. Life's gone on._

She focused on another haunting topic: how she fixed the ship's engine. It had been such a long time since she had last done it, not since she was seven. She remembered it as clear as day. One of her half-brothers had shattered his mother's precious, expensive vase. She had been so scared that she would be punished for what he did, like she always was, and just willed it to piece itself together so nobody would know what happened. And it did. She put it together in a matter of seconds with simply pure thought. But at the same moment, her stepmom had walked into the room. She screamed at the sight of the pottery shards piecing together by themselves and yelled at Annabeth. Her dad was dragged into the whole mess and, as he always did, he sided with his wife. Annabeth was locked in her room.

That was the night she had first ran away. She slept in dark alleys for a few nights, fending off monsters with the rusty hammer she had stolen from her dad. She lived on free samples from the local grocery store. Then Luke and Thalia had found her…

_Stop!_ She thought. _Stop dwelling on the past. Look forward. Forward!_

She thought about the dream she had no more than a week before. It had been the first she'd heard from Percy in months! Grover claimed to have a similar dream.

She was so relieved to see him again, even though it was through a dream and he didn't seem to remember her. But he remembered now. That's what Tyson said. He's fine. So are all of the Romans.

Annabeth smiled to herself. She could already see him: his dark hair, Mediterranean skin-tone, those sea-green eyes, everything.

She lost herself in thinking about Percy. She remembered his annoying jokes, playing capture the flag with him at Camp Half-Blood, the blue cola he always drank at dinner.

_You're going to have all that back_, she told herself. _You're going to see him today._

Suddenly, someone shoved something red in her face.

"What?" she exclaimed, stumbling backwards into Piper and Thalia. They caught her before she went tumbling across the deck.

Annabeth steadied herself. She looked down at the red birthday bag she was holding blankly.

"Happy birthday!"

She stared at her two friends, shocked. Her expression must have been good, because they smiled.

"We've been waiting for you to come down to the cabin _forever_," Piper said. "Thalia got fed up of waiting for you so we came to find you."

"How did you…"

"Know it was your birthday? Thalia told me."

Annabeth glared at Thalia. "Sly."

Thalia shrugged. "You deserve to celebrate your birthday. You're seventeen today, right?"

"Right."

"Then let me apologize for the card beforehand."

Annabeth raised an eye brow at her as Piper grabbed her hand. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time left. Rachel's waiting in the cabin."

When they entered the cabin, Rachel greeted them with a noise maker, blowing it in Annabeth's face. She laughed and swatted it away. Rachel laughed too.

Annabeth looked around the cabin. It was pretty ordinary, with five single beds with dressers pushed against the walls. There was a big porthole opposite the door where sunlight was shining through. One of the dressers had a huge brownie.

She felt her face go red. "You didn't have to do all this."

"Yes, we did," Rachel countered. She held out a box wrapped with gold wrapping paper. "Here, open this. It's from me."

Annabeth reluctantly took it from her. She sat down on one of the beds and gently began to unwrap it.

"You can just tear the paper," Thalia pointed out.

She pretended not to hear her. She pealed the tape away from the paper at one end and carefully slid what was in it out.

It was a book: Advanced Modern Architecture of the Twenty-First Century.

Annabeth couldn't help but smile; she loved the book already. She stood up and hugged Rachel. "Thank you so much!"

Rachel shrugged. "It's no problem. I remembered that you mentioned that you like architecture when we were in the labyrinth, two years back." She grimaced as if she were remembering the nightmare. "Well, you know, it just stuck in my mind, because it was a common interest. A rarity back then."

Annabeth felt a pang of guilt. Until about a year before, she had always picked fights with Rachel because she had liked Percy. She had sensed that Rachel did too and was scared that Percy had mutual feelings for her. Of course, Percy didn't get it. He was clueless.

Then Rachel became the new Oracle, which meant that she couldn't date. After that, they got along just fine, which just confused Percy even more.

She traced the title of the book with her finger. "Thanks," she repeated.

"Open the bag," Piper said. "It's from Thalia and me."

Annabeth did. She pulled out the card and opened it first to see a huge number 2 staring her in the face.

"Umm…"

"I was in a rush. We were tracking a few monsters all at once, so I pretty much ran in and grabbed a random card," Thalia explained.

"Understood. The giraffe on the card is cute anyway."

She put it aside and pulled a stuffed owl out of the bag. It stared at her with big, round yellow eyes.

"That's my gift to you," Thalia said, trying to hide a smile.

Annabeth wedged a finger into its plush beak. "Thanks Thalia. It's really cute."

Piper pointed at the bag. "There's something else in the bag."

Annabeth reached in again and pulled out a mega bag of chocolate candies.

"My dad sent them a few days ago," Piper said. "I arranged it through Millie. She was able to find time to let him go to the store and get it."

Annabeth suddenly felt guilty. She knew how busy her Piper's dad always was. "Piper, thank you so much, but you shouldn't have gone through all that trouble…"

Piper waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. My dad was more than willing to do it. I think he was thrilled when I asked him that."

Annabeth smiled. Piper and her dad didn't talk often, but their relationship was definitely improving. Something Annabeth was envious of.

Rachel walked over to the dresser and brought the brownie on it and brought it over. "It isn't a cake, but I bet it's just as good," she said as she held it out for her. "Make a wish."

Annabeth thought for a moment. Then she unsheathed her knife and sliced the brownie in half as she made her wish.

_I wish that today goes perfectly for Percy, me and everyone else._

She sliced the halves in half and took the plate from Rachel. She offered it to Thalia. "Here, take one."

Thalia did. "Thanks Annabeth!"

She offered one to Piper and Rachel then took one for herself. The brownie was delicious; it was probably the best brownie she ever had.

She looked up at Rachel. "Wow, this is delicious. Where'd you get it?"

"Umm…" Rachel's face turned bright red. "I talked to Travis Stoll?"

She gaped at her. "You asked to steal it, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"From where?"

"The kitchen."

Annabeth continued to stare at Rachel. Then she smiled. "That's really nice of you, in a mischievous kind of way. Thanks."

Rachel smiled too. "You're welcome."

All of them were just finishing off the brownie when Leo burst into the room.

"We're almost there! You've got to see the view!"

Thalia stood. Her electric blue eyes were flaring. "This is a girl's cabin! Get out!"

Leo ignored her. "It's awesome! Come up before we get to low."

"You crashed a party so we could see California from the clouds?" Piper muttered under her breath.

Leo must have heard that. "Party? You call this a party? You're sitting on a bed eating a brownie!" He looked at Annabeth. "Happy birthday, by the way. Sorry that I crashed your _party_." He really emphasized that last word.

Annabeth sighed. "It's alright, and thanks."

Leo's gaze fell on Piper. "You might as well come up, beauty queen. You're supposed to get on the Romans' good side."

Rachel set down her napkin. "We're that close?"

"Yep."

Annabeth stood up. "We'll come."

"Cool. Come on." Leo dashed out the door.

The girls followed him up to the main deck where kids were starting to line the rails to get a first glimpse of the famous Roman camp: Camp Jupiter, as Jason had told them.

They found Jason sitting on a bench watching the other campers gawking at the sight of San Francisco. He seemed lost in thought, just as he had a few hours before when Annabeth found him in her secret spot.

Leo slapped him on the back, bringing Jason back to reality. "Hey, man. Wasn't the view awesome?"

"What's up with him and views?" Thalia muttered.

Rachel shrugged. "Who knows?"

Jason looked up at Leo, the shock still in his eyes. "Uh…I didn't look."

Piper slid onto the bench next to him. Annabeth felt a pang of sympathy for her.

_It must be hard to see her boyfriend like this_, she thought.

"You know, Jason," Piper said. "If you're nervous, don't be. Everything will work out. I promise."

Jason gave her a weak smile. "Thanks Piper. You're awesome."

Thalia walked over to him and held out her hand for her "little" brother. "Come on. Things will work out. You're not alone."

Something passed between them, some brother/sister empathy. Jason seemed to loosen up and took his sister's hand.

They walked to the railing. Annabeth could see why Leo was so excited about it; it was an amazing sight. The hills looked like they were in a beautiful painting, and the city was bustling with activity, somehow making it cheerful.

Then she caught sight of Mount Tam. A lump formed in her throat. She couldn't put her hatred for that place in words. To many bad memories lingered there: those of betrayal, pain, and confusion. Possession of a body, which led to death.

"Don't look at it," Thalia muttered to her. She looked up to see Rachel and Thalia casting her looks of empathy, sympathetic understanding.

She noticed Jason staring intently at the mountain. His eyes were far away, as if he were recovering some memory hidden far away (by Hera).

Leo gently shook his arm. "Hey, bro, stay with us."

Jason blinked. "Right. Sorry."

Thalia bit her lip. She was obviously worried. "Jason, you don't have to stay and watch the view. Maybe you should do something else."

"No, it's fine. I want to stay with you guys."

Rachel muttered something under her breath. The only word Annabeth caught was "shouldn't."

The rolling hills gave way to another town…or was it a city? This confused Annabeth. She knew the bay area well; there shouldn't be a city this close to San Francisco.

As the Argo II sailed closer, she realized that it wasn't an average present-day American city. It was an exact replica of Ancient Rome! Suddenly, Annabeth was in paradise. She couldn't wait to see the Coliseum up close…and the Senate House…and the marketplace.

_Why are you thinking about architecture?_ She scolded herself. _They have a_ city_! With people, and families! _

Annabeth was just about to open her mouth to speak when Jason let out a strangled gasp. Immediately, everyone looked up from the city to see what was the matter- an instinct that all demigods develop from experiences with monsters.

Jason looked horrible. His face was extremely pale and his eyes were wild, like he had just seen his worst nightmare.

"It- it's horrible!" He drew his sword. "The city- why are we attacking them? Stop!"

He started to climb over the railing, but Rachel and Leo pulled him back. "Are you crazy?" Leo yelped. "We aren't attacking your friends!"

Jason fought. "Let me help them! They're losing!"

Annabeth looked down at the city. There wasn't any battle pursuing below them. Yes, there were a few ruins from the previous day's battle, but the citizens were already working to fix the damages.

"What are you talking about?"

Jason managed to push Leo off him, but Rachel was still clinging to him. "Stop! You're hurting them! The city- you're setting it on fire! Stop it! Let me go!"

Rachel's grip slipped from Jason's arm but, luckily, Thalia was in between Jason and the rail. She put her hands on Jason's shoulders and half pushed/half guided him towards the bench he had sat on before.

Jason fought her. He yelled desperately, drawing attention from the other campers towards him. But Thalia was stronger. She didn't stop until she had her brother pinned down on the bench.

"Jason, _listen_ to me," she said. Her voice quivered. "I don't know what you're seeing, but believe me when I say this: we're not attacking you're friends. We won't let anything hurt them. Calm down."

By this time, Jason was panting hard. He looked at his sister with fear-filled eyes and gave the smallest nod that could be seen to the human eye. Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped down.

Apollo medics from the crowd that had gathered around the bench rushed out to examine Jason. Chiron cantered through. "What's happened?"

Annabeth and Rachel explained as quickly and as best as possible. Chiron's expression was unreadable, but Annabeth saw deep concern in his eyes, mixed in with fear, like they had just confirmed a dark secret.

Jason began to groan. Will Solace stood and shook his head incredulously. "He's fine. It's like he's asleep." He turned toward Thalia. "Just take him to the infirmary. He should come to in a few minutes."

Thalia let out a deep sigh of relief. She had never let go of her brother the whole time. She stood, leaned her brother next to her and guided him away to the infirmary.

"I need to talk to him later about that," Chiron muttered as if to himself.

A thought popped up in Annabeth's head. "I never met with you to talk about –"

Chiron raised his hand. "It doesn't matter. It can wait."

Chiron trotted over to the rail and looked down. Annabeth did the same. They were descending in the forum. She could see kids piling out of the Senate House, and citizens gathering around the area, watching as the mysterious war ship came closer and closer.

Chiron called the order for everyone to get into their assigned positions. Campers scrambled away to their posts.

He put a large hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "We'll see our old friend soon enough, my dear. Patience is the hardest to find when time is little. Come along."

He turned to Piper. "You'll be fine, Miss McLean. Talk to them with confidence. There's nothing you can say that is wrong."

He gestured for Rachel and Leo to come with them and they headed towards the main cabin, each step closer and closer to Percy than Annabeth can believe.


	7. Chapter 7 Hazel

Here's Chapter 7. I hope you enjoy it! I'll try to post Chapter 8 as soon as I can.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Hazel

Hazel, Percy and Frank walked down the corridor leading out of the Senate House. Hazel did her best to hide her nervousness. Frank was obviously doing the same. His expression was emotionless, but Hazel could tell that he was apprehensive as well.

Percy, on the other hand, was practically skipping in his toga. He was grinning so wide that Hazel thought his face would crack.

He stumbled over his toga. "Why do I have to wear this thing again?" he asked Hazel, for the millionth time.

"Now that you're Praetor, you have to carry on the traditions of Rome. That means wearing the bed sheet."

Percy grumbled something under his breath about being a _graecus_, and then continued skipping down the hall.

Frank leaned over toward her. "Don't you think he's a little…over excited?"

Hazel shrugged. "I guess if I were him, I'd be the same. I think it's been hard on him, with the amnesia and all."

"True. Anyone would be excited. But everyone else is, well, anxious."

"Well," Hazel said staring after Percy, "we have to trust him. That's easy enough."

Percy suddenly stopped. He stared down the corridor.

Hazel and Frank caught up to him. They saw what Percy was looking at.

Reyna was waiting for them, holding a bundle of clothes.

Percy walked up to her. "Reyna, what's up?"

Reyna shoved the clothes at him. "Here, get changed."

"Huh?"

That's when Hazel noticed that Reyna was wearing jeans and a purple SPQR t-shirt under her armor, which was strange for her. She usually wore a toga when she wasn't training with the rest of the campers. She looked good, though: like a regular teenager, even if she was still wearing the purple Praetor's cape she always wore.

"Do you want to greet your friends in a toga?" Reyna said.

Percy didn't even give time to think about her question. "No! Never!"

Hazel saw the smallest smile flicker across Reyna's face. "Then go get changed. But," she said as Percy started to walk away, "Make sure you wear something to symbolize that you're Praetor. Maybe wear the cape or something."

Percy gave a thumbs-up. "Okay." He ran to the men's room.

Hazel and Frank stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. Reyna scowled at them.

"Well, don't just stand there! Come on."

They followed Reyna out of the Senate House to the Forum where citizens of the city and the Legion soldiers from Camp Jupiter. The huge warship hadn't landed yet, but it cast its huge shadow in the middle of the area as it descended.

Hazel was impressed. The warship was amazing. Even from the angle she was looking at it, she could see huge shields the color of Percy's sword, Riptide, glinting in the sunlight and hear the flapping of the sails in the wind.

She could tell Frank was amazed as well. His narrow, brown eyes were wide as the ship landed in front of them, creaking. The ship was almost the same height as the Senate House.

Everyone in the forum was silent as everyone vigilantly regarded the warship. Some gasped when the masthead, which was the head of a bronze dragon, moved from side to side, creaking and clicking at them. Hazel saw Greek writing on the side of the ship. Surprisingly, she understood what it said: _The Argo II_.

_The Argo II_, she thought, recalling the myths she had learned during her time at Camp. _Jason's ship_.

She smiled to herself. Who ever came up with that one was pretty darn smart. She wondered if it was Sammy.

Sammy.

Hazel felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Sammy Valdez, her old, dead, boyfriend, was on that ship. Only, in the video, he called himself Leo.

That extremely confounded her. Was the guy in the video really Sammy? Was he someone who coincidentally looked like him? Were they related?

_No_, she told herself. _Stop it. You could make yourself have blackouts again if you keep thinking about the past. _

But the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach didn't go away. That only made her feel worse.

"Did I miss anything?" A voice said from behind, startling her.

She turned around to see Percy, wearing a purple t-shirt and jeans under his armor. His Praetor's badge gleamed.

"No. They landed a few minutes ago, but nothing's happened," Frank said.

Reyna frowned as she looked Percy up and down. "You're only wearing the pin? Couldn't you have worn the cape or something else more obvious?"

Percy shifted from foot to foot. "Well…"

"I agree with Reyna." A snotty voice piped up from beside Frank.

There stood Octavian, still wearing his purple toga and clutching a practically destroyed teddy bear that had stuffing poking out of a slit in its neck. He had his knife in his other hand.

Reyna scowled at him. "Octavian, this isn't your business. And it doesn't matter if Percy is only wearing the badge. It still expresses his position of authority."

"Oh but my Praetor, it does matter. It matters very, very much." Octavian flashed his fake, innocent smile. "He's only wearing the pin. It shows that he does not care to honor the legion."

Rage boiled inside of Hazel. How dare Octavian insult her friend like that!

She was about to speak up when there was a shift in the crowd. She noticed everyone watching the ship.

A girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, was walking up to the railing. She wore armor over an orange t-shirt and jeans, with a sheathed knife strapped to her arm. She had long dark hair that was braided with ribbon, and her expression was worried, maybe even scared. Even from Hazel's point of view, she was pretty in a natural way.

She stopped at the railing and glanced down at the crowd nervously. She bit her lip for a second and then opened her mouth to speak.

"Umm…hi everyone. My name's Piper. I know this is a little…awkward, with us flying here without warning and all, but it's important. Really important."

Hazel sensed Octavian tensing up behind her. The girl, Piper, had a way with words. She was a really convincing; more convincing than Octavian. He would obviously see her as an enemy right away.

"Right, so, I guess you know why we're here. Gaea is waking up from her long slumber. I think you all know that that is not good at all. So, let's get down to business. We need to discuss how to stop it from happening and what we know. That means leaders to leaders. So, to make you a little comfortable, we're giving you a couple of options."

Everyone seemed to tense at this. Reyna stared intently up at Piper. Octavian was scowling at her. Even Percy seemed solemn.

"If you want, we will come out and discuss matters with you. Or, you can come on board. We have a meeting room in here with extra seats. Choose whichever."

Reyna leaned toward Percy and whispered to him. Percy whispered something back, which Hazel caught.

"Are you sure? We don't have to do that."

Reyna nodded. She looked up at Piper who was still watching the crowd intently. "We'll come aboard."

Hazel was shocked by her answer. So was everyone else. Hushed conversations broke out throughout the gathered crowd. Octavian looked disgusted. Even Piper seemed surprised. Out of the corner of Hazel's eye, she could see Percy give a small smile. It was what he really wanted.

"Okay," Piper said, flashing a friendly, reassuring smile. "No problem. Just give us a few minutes to unfold the ramp." She jogged away from the railing and disappeared.

Reyna turned to the soldiers of the legion who stood behind her. "Alright. All of us can't cram onto the ship, so I'll choose a select few to come on with Percy and I." She turned to Percy. "Who do you think?"

Percy seemed stunned for a moment at her question. He probably wasn't used to ordering the legion around. "Hazel and Frank, definitely. Oh, and Tyson too."

"Yay!" Tyson clapped.

Reyna nodded. She looked at her sister. "Hylla, would you-?"

Hylla didn't give Reyna the chance to finish speaking. "Of course."

"Great. How about you, Gwendolyn?"

"Sure Reyna. No problem."

"Excellent. The rest of you, stay out here. I'm putting Dakota in charge. Obey his orders."

Some of the campers, mostly from the first and second cohort, didn't seem to like the idea of the fifth cohort centurion, who was addicted to Kool-Aid, being in charge. But Hazel, Frank and Percy were grinning with pride for their cohort.

Octavian looked miffed. "Praetor," he said. "Shouldn't I come aboard as well? I am the augury, after all."

Reyna was clearly annoyed. "Are you questioning my orders, Octavian?"

"Oh, no! Of course not! I'm just saying that wouldn't it be more appropriate for a person of authority, such as me, to come with you than those who have a lower ranking?"

Hazel balled her fists. "Percy's praetor," she said struggling to control her voice. "Frank is a centurion. They both hold positions of authority."

"Not all of you do," he sneered.

Hazel bit her lip. It was true. Even though she successfully completed a quest, she was still barely a full member of the legion. She was really low on the hierarchy of the legion.

"Hazel," Frank said, his voice cold and bitter, "came back from a quest yesterday. She returned the missing eagle. She freed Thanatos and killed a giant. Then she came back hear helped defeat another giant and saved Camp Jupiter and the city. As far as I am concerned, you have done _none_ of those things. So, clearly, she has more of a right to come with us than you do. Understood?"

Hazel was so grateful to Frank. She was relieved that he stood up for her. She felt like she belonged.

Octavain stared right at Frank. Then he turned abruptly to Reyna. "Reyna, what do you think?"

"You know what Octavian," Reyna said. "I need you to do something for me. It's really important." She pointed to the city boundary line where Terminus was having a fit. "Terminus needs to stay alert for any intruders. The monsters who survived yesterday may come back. I need you to calm him down."

He stared at her. "What?"

Reyna repeated the order. Then she added, "We don't want him coming after our new Greek friends."

"Who says we're going to get along?" Octavian demanded.

"Mrs. O'Leary likes elephant," Tyson chimed in.

"What does that have to do with anything! So the hound and Hannibal get along. That doesn't mean that we're going to cooperate!"

"The elephant is a sign."

Everyone stared at Frank. His face turned as red as a tomato. "That didn't sound right, didn't it?"

"No…" Percy said.

Reyna sighed. "Octavian, just go attend to Terminus. Now."

Octavian scowled than stormed off, cursing in Latin.


End file.
